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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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Letters to the editors: See who readers support in Aug. 6 election

Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / A voter enters the Hamilton County Election Commission during early voting on Thursday, July 23, 2026.
Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / A voter enters the Hamilton County Election Commission during early voting on Thursday, July 23, 2026. Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / A voter enters the Hamilton County Election Commission during early voting on Thursday, July 23, 2026.


Ruth Walker for school board

Hamilton County has a rare opportunity to elect someone with both the training to understand evidence-based practice and a genuine, deep care for her community. Dr. Ruth Walker, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has devoted her life to helping others.

As a developmental cognitive neuroscientist, I evaluate evidence for a living. Much of my own research focuses on how children grow and develop. Two things stand out when I consider the school board member Dr. Walker will be.

First, she makes decisions the way a scientist should: by asking what the evidence says. In four years of working closely with her, I have seen it firsthand. She is meticulous, intelligent, results-oriented and I know she will bring that same discipline to every budget, curriculum and policy decision.